World News - 'Wash Post' Obtains Shocking Memo from U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. You keep hearing that we are not given the good news from Iraq. Ok try this little piece of news

This cable outlines, the Post reported Sunday, "the daily-worsening conditions for those who live outside the heavily guarded international zone: harassment, threats and the employees' constant fears that their neighbors will discover they work for the U.S. government." It's actually far worse than that, as the details published below indicate, which include references to abductions, threats to women's rights, and "ethnic cleansing." A PDF copy of the cable shows that it was sent to the SecState in Washington, D.C. from "AMEmbassy Baghdad" on June 6. The typed name at the very bottom is Khalilzad -- the name of the U.S. Ambassador, though it is not known if this means he wrote the memo or merely approved it. The subject of the memo is: "Snapshots from the Office -- Public Affairs Staff Show Strains of Social Discord."... http://www.editorandpublisher.com

SCOTLAND'S drugs tsar has sparked a furious row by openly declaring that the war on drugs is "long lost". Tom Wood, a former deputy chief constable, is the first senior law enforcement figure publicly to admit drug traffickers will never be defeated. Wood said no nation could ever eradicate illegal drugs and added that it was time for enforcement to lose its number one priority and be placed behind education and deterrence. But his remarks have been condemned by Graeme Pearson, director of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), who said he "strongly disagreed" with Wood. The row has erupted as concern mounts about the apparent inability of police, Customs and other agencies to stem the flow of illegal drugs. It was reported yesterday that an eight-year-old Scottish school pupil had received treatment for drug addiction. ...http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=892852006

The villagers of Helmand province are finding themselves trapped between Taliban insurgents and violent government soldiers. The soldiers rounded up the villagers at first light. The Taliban had just pummelled the new Afghan National Army (ANA) base at Gaza in the Arghandab Valley, a notorious rebel nest in Zabul province. Now, the angry soldiers wanted to know who was sheltering them. They grabbed Jamal Ludin as he left for morning prayers. The 32-year-old grape farmer said he had been lined up beside a ditch with 50 other men and thrashed with wooden poles and an electric cable. "They said, 'Tell us where are the Taliban'," he said. Gingerly lifting his shirt, Mr Ludin showed bandages on both sleeves and his chest. He said the soldiers had taken his money and searched his house without permission - a grave dishonour in Pashtun tradition. Mirza, a 26-year-old, came from another village near the ANA base. After threats from the soldiers his family fled ...http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,,1801214,00.html

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 Monday that regulators may have misinterpreted the federal Clean Water Act when they refused to allow two Michigan property owners to build a shopping mall and condos on wetlands they own. At the same time, justices could not reach a consensus on whether government can extend protections for wetlands miles away from waterways. The decision is the first significant environmental ruling for the high court headed by new Chief Justice John Roberts, and justices were so fractured that the main opinion by Justice Antonin Scalia only had the votes of four justices. Roberts, one of those four, said that the result was so confusing that ``lower courts and regulated entities will now have to feel their way on a case-by-case basis.'' ...http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-5896911,00.html

The U.S. Army has charged three soldiers in connection with the deaths of three Iraqis who were in military custody in southern Iraq last month, the military said Monday.The Multinational Corps-Iraq said three members of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division have been charged in connection with the deaths of three male detainees during an operation near Thar Thar Canal in southern Salahuddin province on May 9.“A noncommissioned officer and two soldiers each have been charged with violating several articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice including murder, attempted murder, conspiracy, communicating a threat, and obstructing justice,” an announcement said. It added that “on the day the alleged murders occurred, the unit commander ordered an inquiry to determine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of the three detainees.”It said that a criminal investigation began May 17 and was ongoing....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13423764/

Hundreds of American and Iraqi troops backed by a U.S. gunship pushed into an insurgent-infested section of eastern Ramadi, expanding their campaign to bolster their presence in one of Iraq's most violent cities.No U.S. casualties were reported, but six insurgents were thought to have been killed by fire from the AC-130 Spectre gunship in the initial hours of the operation, U.S. commanders on the ground said. Sporadic gunfire between U.S. troops and insurgent snipers echoed throughout the neighborhood.The troops were trying to establish a new outpost in Ramadi's eastern Mulaab neighborhood that would allow U.S. and Iraqi troops to better patrol a troublesome area where insurgents have frequently attacked.The outpost would be less than a mile deeper into the city from their current base....http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2006-06-18-ramadi-outposts_x.htm?csp=34